Software Dream Job: Interface Design

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Software Dream Job: Interface Design

Alan Cooper has been in the software biz for well over 20 years. Known to some as the "Father of Visual Basic" (he sold the VB visual programming interface to a Mr. Gates back in 1988), Alan has spent years as a programmer and software designer. He started freelancing 11 years ago from his spare bedroom. Four and a half years ago, he began his design consulting business. And in 1994, Alan hired his first employee.

Today there are a total of 10 people at this Palo Alto company, where everyone has their own office surrounding a central common space known as "the gym." With Alan's guidance, the small team functions as a consultancy, plugging into the software development process in places where Alan sees an unfilled need. He uses the analogy of the architect to describe his business. "When you want to build a house, you hire an architect," he expounds. "The architect turns your requirements into a design and then passes it on to the builder. In the software business, clients traditionally go straight to the builder." In case you hadn't guessed, the builder is the programmer, and it's a rare case when a good programmer is also a good designer.

Alan is quick to tell me what the company doesn't do: no programming, no prototyping, not much user testing, and not much visual designing. Instead, clients might come to Cooper with a vague idea for what they want to do and some VB backing. Or perhaps a client has a completed product with support costs that have been blown way out of proportion. "We have a term for when we design for a piece of software that has already been built," says Alan. "We call it painting the corpse." Or maybe a developer approaches Cooper with a good idea that's taking shape, but there is anxiety about shipping on time. The company has done work for Logitech, Sagent, Adobe, and LivePicture, among others.

Alan is looking for a designer with software and interactive design skills. In the job, you could expect to meet with clients and assess their needs; brainstorm with the Cooper team, including sketching and conceptualizing; and then create schematics using PowerPoint. ("We don't use Macs," warns Alan.) Then things are turned over to the design communicator, who develops the specs into an implementation guide for the clients.

Alan has developed his own proprietary system he calls "goal-directed design." "We're like Method actors for software users," says senior designer Robert Reimann. And Alan is looking to build up his cast.